Commercial and military aircraft are vulnerable to lightning strikes in various phases of their operation. When moving through a highly charged atmosphere, such as a storm, an aircraft can cause a disturbance that motivates lightning to strike the aircraft. In conventional aircraft having a metal skin, such as aluminum, the electrical energy imparted onto the surface of the aircraft from the lighting strike is primarily conducted along the surface of the skin and dissipated from the aircraft using various techniques.
In aircraft constructed using composite matrices that form various components of the aircraft, because the polymeric material that forms the composite structure may not dissipate electrical energy as efficiently as metal, aircraft with composite materials may be equipped with various lightning strike protection technologies. Some technologies include, but are not limited to, a series of wire meshes on the surface of the aircraft skin or embedded into the composite structure to conduct electricity away from vital or important aircraft components. Another technology may be to use one or more layers of graphite cloth and aluminum ply. Conventional techniques for embedding various metallic components into aircraft structures constructed from composite materials can cause surface deformities that may need to be compensated for in order to create smooth surfaces.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure herein is presented.